Farmers’ protests reached the state of Jammu and Kashmir as Youth Congress workers in Jammu protested against the killing of the five farmers in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur

Jammu: Farmers’ protests reached the state of Jammu and Kashmir as Youth Congress workers in Jammu protested against the killing of the five farmers in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur.

Raising slogans against the Madhya Pradesh government, the youth Congress workers held a ‘rail roko’ protest at Jammu railway station’s platform number 1 and attempted to block trains. Police reinforcements were rushed in and the protesting crowd was dispersed.

The protests that began in Maharashtra have spread to Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka with farmer unions and political outfits demanding action against those responsible for the killing of the five farmers in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh.

The state of Madhya Pradesh had previously denied that the death of the farmers was caused by police firing, however, on Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Bhupendra Singh admitted that the five casualties took place during the police firing.

The town inspector of Pipliamandi, Anil Singh Thakur, was removed from field duties in connection with the firing on farmers, confirmed police. Superintendent of Police Om Prakash Tripathi, who has been transferred in the wake of the firing, said the cases have been filed in connection with various incidents of violence.

Meanwhile, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi was arrested on the outskirts of Mandsaur by state police. Rahul Gandhi had reached Mandsaur to visit the families of the farmers killed in the firing. Gandhi, while en route to the conflict-ridden region, tried to evade the cops on the Rajasthan-MP border by travelling via a two-wheeler but couldn't due to a high number of police posts in the border region.

After he was detained, Gandhi took to Twitter to say that he just wanted to meet with the farmers in the region and hear their grievances, but was detained without any reason.

Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, in response, lashed out against the Congress party for “instigating” the ongoing farmers’ protest in Madhya Pradesh, which took a devilish form after five people were killed during the agrarian movement.

He also termed Rahul Gandhi's planned visit to the violence-hit Mandsaur as "another photo opportunity".

Centre and MP govt under extreme pressure

In view of the spiralling protests that spread from Maharashtra to Madhya Pradesh, the central government has come under extreme pressure to fix the issue but has largely remained silent. The entire Opposition has united over the issue against the BJP, who, according to parties, have failed to solve internal issues.

For instance, the UP government has failed to control the Saharanpur violence; likewise, the MP government has not found any success in containing the farmers’ protest in India’s central state.

The Opposition, especially Congress, has questioned the BJP over its ignorance towards the farmers of the country, who have made demands necessary to sustain their lives. The Congress accused the BJP of "acting as a curse of death for Indian farmers".

Youth Cong workers stage 'rail roko' as protests spread to Jammu and KashmirDescription:Farmers’ protests reached the state of Jammu and Kashmir as Youth Congress workers in Jammu protested against the killing of the five farmers in Madhya Pradesh’s MandsaurTimes Now